England fans who booed Tomkins are a disgrace – Peacock

The Rhinos forward was stunned by the reaction of the home supporters among the 14,174 crowd at Headingley while Tomkins was visibly shaken after England’s 16-10 defeat by the Exiles.

“I don’t mind taking a bit of stick when you are playing at club level but, when you look at the most successful teams in rugby, they’ve got a quality fan base behind them,” Tomkins said.

“We definitely had some genuine fans there cheering for England and probably I was under a slight illusion that there would be more of them.

“But it’s a bit of a joke when you’re getting booed representing your country on English turf.”

Tomkins was one of England’s most impressive performers in defeat but he admits the reaction of the fans took the shine off the occasion. “It certainly has for me,” he said. “It’s just not nice and you don’t expect it.

“Playing for your national side is completely different to playing for your club and the players themselves have a completely different feel about it.

“We’re one team, we’re united and we stick together through it and we expect fans to do that as well.”

Peacock, too, was taken aback by the booing of his England team-mate and pointed his criticism directly at Leeds fans.

“I think it’s pretty disgraceful, to be honest,” he said.

“When you come to support England, you should support England no matter who is playing for them.

“I’ll be honest. I’m England first and Leeds Rhinos second and I think some other people should get that mentality.

“I take it personally as captain of the team. When you are trying your best for your country and people are booing one of your players who is trying as hard as he possibly can, it’s very disappointing.”

Wigan captain Sean O’Loughlin, who was at loose forward for England, said: “It’s disappointing that some of the fans can’t bring themselves to cheer for him but Sam’s a big enough character to cope with it.”

Despite the personal abuse, Tomkins remains a fan of the Origin concept, which was introduced to replace the traditional mid-season Test against France.

The Wigan youngster was at the heart of a tremendous England defensive effort, pulling off try-saving tackles on Rangi Chase and Pat Richards, and was delighted with the intensity of a tough, physical hit-out.

“We were expecting that,” he said. “They’re a tough outfit and certainly brought the game to us. It was what we need. We never had that against France.”

Peacock is already looking forward to the same fixture in 2012.

“It was disappointing to lose in the last minute like that but we’re pleased with the performance,” added Peacock. “It was a good hit-out for us.”

Headingley match gives RFL taste for more Exiles

Talks will get under way this week in an effort to build on the success of the inaugural International Origin match, according to Rugby Football League chairman Richard Lewis.

The RFL scrapped England’s traditional mid-season Test against France because it proved to be one-sided and coach Steve McNamara was delighted with the intensity of Friday night’s clash with the Exiles, a team of seasoned Australians and New Zealanders based in Super League who claimed a 16-10 victory.

“I think it was a real, good contest, which is what we wanted,” said Lewis. “We wanted a tough mid-season international.

“It was a good crowd. We were pleased to get 14,000. A lot of people are comparing it to State of Origin in Australia which is obviously a fantastic spectacle.

“I think people recognised it was always going to be a really tough match for England and I think that’s why the fans turned out.”

The RFL will discuss with clubs the possibility of arranging a blank weekend in the Super League fixture list to give the match greater prominence and avoid players having to play twice in 48 hours.